ASB is claiming a first with a new blockchain-based service used to organise a meat export trade deal.

The bank says Greenlea used its new "single trade window" service to process a deal with a large Korean importer.

ASB's GM Global Transaction Banking Greg Beehre said the transaction was a landmark because the blockchain-based service meant digital payment and paperwork for the deal were wrapped up in an hour - compared to the two to four days it would take to process using more traditional means.

Trade is currently paperwork-heavy, Beehre says, making it susceptible to fraud or human error.

Greenlea boss Tony Egan says blockchain also appealed because of the technology was created to be unhackable. He notes that cybersecurity was one of the top concerns in the Herald's recent Mood of the Boardroom survey.

Egan says while Greenlea already had paperless systems, the single trade window solution meant it could move from scrabbling emails together to a single dashboard covering elements such as payment, regulatory documents and insurance, shipping and Customs paperwork.

He adds that by wrapping everything into one place, it's easier for an exporter to include and promote an export product's attributes. In Greenlea's case, that means highlight the fact its beef is pure grass-fed, and including information such as its product's farm of origin.

Blockchain was popularised as the transactional database technology that underpinned the digital currency bitcoin.

While bitcoin hype has fallen away following the crypo-currency's crash earlier this year, blockchain is gaining momentum.

Auckland University commercial law professor Alex Sims says blockchain's security and audit-friendly ability for all parties to transparently follow a series of transactions would push it into the mainstream.

Sims says blockchain will become an everyday technology that people won't think about, just as the internet is today.

Egan says it was relatively easy to get Greenlea's Korean customer onboard with blockchain.

ASB's Greg Beehre: blockchain technology meant Greenlea's transaction with an Korean customer was wrapped up in an hour rather than the usual two to four days. Photo / Supplied.

The sector is crowded with startups, some of whom are are unknown quantities. It helped to partner with a bank with profile and reputation, Egan said.

ASB's single trade window platform, developed in partnership with VerifyUnion, is still at least a few months away from being adopted for everyday use, however.

Greenlea's Korean transaction "shadowed" traditional processing for the transaction.
Egan says there's no set date for Greenlea's next blockchain deal, which he says will happen after VerifyUnion dots a few more "i"s and cross a few more "t's"

But the meat company boss says his company will use ASB's system again and he sees his company ultimately using it for all deals.

ASB's Beehre says a second single trade window transaction is in the works, this time with an air freight exporter.

As long as crypto currencies fluctuate in prices I think it is madness to buy and sell anything with them. By that I mean lets say a company buys $1 Million worth of meat and is paid by the blockchain method. Is whatever that digital currency used open to fluctuations? This article doesn't exactly say how it would work. You wouldn't want a situation like bitcoin dropping $1,000's of dollars overnight and you receiving worthless bitcoin for your product, that would be recipe for disaster.

As long as crypto currencies fluctuate in prices I think it is madness to buy and sell anything with them. By that I mean lets say a company buys $1 Million worth of meat and is paid by the blockchain method. Is whatever that digital currency used open to fluctuations? This article doesn't exactly say how it would work. You wouldn't want a situation like bitcoin dropping $1,000's of dollars overnight and you receiving worthless bitcoin for your product, that would be recipe for disaster.

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The meat sale story is different than crypto. It mentions BitBoin but actually has nothing to do with it. The business in the story probably transacted in whatever currency NZ uses (AUD?). Blockchain is just a very simple "digital leger" technology that basically functions as a spreadsheet record of transactions. It is really no different than any info recording setup (PayPal, Zelle, ApplePay, college entry test scores, etc etc)... it is secure, but it can potentially get hacked and altered. The story is very wrong about that (although they do say "created to be unhackable" and stop short of actually saying that attempt succeeded).

Blockchain is just a basic recording... doesn't even have to necessarily have to be financial at all. We could have a party and have the guests' RSVPs recorded in block chain if we wanted to. A car dealership group could log their sales with it. Blockchain could record payments in USD or AUD or anything else. Blockchain was invented for crypto, but in this story's case, using block chain doesn't necessarily have anything to do with BitCoin or any crypto.

In the long term, blockchain - or some improved version of it, will probably survive and maybe thrive. Crypto on the other hand? Doubtful at best (probably just some black market stuff).

...you are right that accepting crypto (or any volatile item) in payment for transactions is a pretty huge risk. It would be like giving up your item and taking in trade a Saquon Barkley football rookie card or a few shares of stock in a start-up small business. You'd have no idea what that payment you received will be worth in a week... or even tomorrow. Nobody in their right mind would do this for a major transaction payment. Technically, the same variance argument could be said for gold or major nation currency or major company stocks, but those are obviously proven to have much less short term volatility and much longer track record... and are therefore transacted with routinely.

(now the crypto pumpers will arrive and say this is big news and blockchain proves BitCoin works... even though it's entirely unrelated here)

Nobody in their right mind would do this for a major transaction payment.

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Thanks for that, you have explained it very well.

The reason I wrote what I did and quote your reply is because someone did do this in Australia. Last year I bought some silver online with a major reputable bullion dealer. It was in December and as you know it was around the peak of bitcoin. They accepted a bitcoin payment. Upon payment I set what was a fair bitcoin fee for the transaction. The transaction went through but was not confirmed. The bullion dealer stated on it's purchase order that payment had to be made within 24 hours. This was done but as it was not confirmed, it was in limbo for about 10 days. During that time bitcoin crashed a few thousand dollars and I didn't know where I stood.

After 10 days I had to make another bitcoin payment for an unrelated purchase, this time I put in the highest fee I could and miraculously it carried through and conformed my bitcoin payment from 10 days prior. I did not know what the bullion company would do so I sent an email asking if all was ok and if my original contract would be honoured and they said yes it would. Not only did bitcoin go down in value but the price of silver went up. They lost some serious money in that deal.

Not sure what ASB is as I can’t find anything to read up on it but the process would likely have involved some tokenisation ie cryptocurrencies in order for the transfer of funds at pre-determined points in time eg when an event occurs and triggers a function according to whatever was initially coded into the contract. I think. @dozerz can you confirm that or correct it?